Egypt’s Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr announced on Friday that 1,454 kilometers have been cleared of landmines at Al-Alamein town thanks to help from the United Nations, according to the latest data monitored by the Executive Secretariat for the Demining and Development of the North West Coast (ESDDNWC). Nasr added that a comprehensive database of mine accident survivors has been devised and will be updated periodically, along with organizing three mine awareness campaigns targeted at 160,000 Matrouh residents. She added that the government will not only remove the landmines, but utilize development tools to help citizens and the affected areas, alongside negotiating new grants. The ESDDNWC said that WWII landmine leftovers contaminated 2,680 square kilometers of land in the northwest coast, equivalent to 16 percent of Egypt’s geographic area. In 2006, the estimated number of mine incidents was 8,313 (697 killed and 7,616 injured), of which 5,015 were civilians, it says.

Source: Egypt Independent August 18, 2018 11:05 UTC